Amsoil Series 2000 0W30 (SL), 21,000 miles, !992 Ford Aerostar 3.0

[Jan Richter]

1992 Ford Aerostar 3.0 automatic.
112,000 miles on engine.
Oil Use Interval: 21,000 miles (mainly highway – less than 1 year)
Oil: Amsoil Series 2000 0W30 (SL)
Make-up oil added: 3.5 qts.

Blackstone's comments:
We think 21,000 miles on an oil is too long for this engine to handle. Please note the high amounts of chrome (rings), iron (steel parts sharing oil) and lead (bearings) that have left a lot of abrasive metals roaming inside the engine. Universal averages for typical wear are based on a 4,760 miles of oil use and a couple of short oil change intervals would clean up the V-6 in your Aerostar. Sodium was found and might be coolant seeping into the oil or is an additive in the oil. TBN was 2.1 (little active additive left – 1.0 is too low), Viscosity was in the 20W50 range. Check back to monitor.

Element This analysis Universal average

Aluminium...... 6 3
Chromium...... 6 1
Iron ............48 15
Copper..........8 5
Lead.............14 5
Tin ...............3 1
Molybdenum...10 38
Nickel............1 0
Manganese.....1 0
Silver.............0 0
Titanium.........0 0
Potassium.......2 1
Boron............22 48
Silicon............27 16
Sodium.........25 10
Calcium.........2448 2024
Magnesium.....795 223
Phosphorus.....858 759
Zinc..............1022 900
Barium............0 1

Values should be Tested values were

SUS viscosity @ 210F... 56-64 89.9
Flashpoint F ............... > 365 395
Fuel %....................... < 2.0 < 0.5
Antifreeze %............... 0 ?
Water %.................... 0.0 0.0
Insolubles %................ < 0.6 0.4


What would the UOA have been like if no make-up oil were needed and I had used the oil for the recommended 35,000 miles?

This engine has used Amsoil Series 2000 0W30 exclusively for the last 100,000 miles. I'm going to try Mobil 1 EP 5w30 next time.
I am currently doing an Auto-Rx treatment.

Note that I am using a K&N oiled air filter but I noticed the filter housing box might have been letting in some unfiltered air.

Note to Moderator: A blank form on which posters can input their figures would be helpful.

Jan Richter

 

[glennc]

The only number that's out of line if you correct for the mileage is the Chromium. Still, I can't imagine a good reason to run the oil that long in a passenger vehicle.

- Glenn

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Don't blame the oil on the condition of your engine. Oil changes should occur as needed. When an oil company states their oil is good for X-amount of miles, all bets are off if the engine is faulty designed, dirty, leaky, improperly driven or improperly filtered. Sometimes a vehicle manufacturer will find out years later that they should of recommended a different weight of oil for that engine.

 

[Gary Allan]

Nothing to get too excited about (non-BITOG standard normal). I think you found your problem with the airbox leakage. The oil itself, aside from Amsoil traditional thickening, did pretty good. Flashpoint, fuel, and insolubles are in order. I was never much on the makeup oil factor. Depending on where in the OCI you added the makeup oil ..you're exchanging new oil for varied accumulations of particles. Assuming the consumption was routine (like every 4-5k)..then it may balance out ..but if you've got no consumption for 5k ..then consume a quart over the next 5k (the stick is dropping after 5k) and your last quart is within the last 2-3k of your UOA ..then it messes with my head on how to integrate it

Although a template would be nice, all that you have to do is copy your post to notepad ..delete the numbers/comments and save it for next time. Tape and paste as needed

 

[Pablo]

You got some abrasive material and dirt in there (Si and Na), yet the wear didn't go out of control.

The Thickening is ridiculous and I am glad Amsoil is finally addressing the problem. Solids are in good control for the miles and amazingly the TBN is OK. Did the make-up oil include a filter change?

Less than one year? How many months?

 

[Jan Richter]

Pablo,
I changed the Mobil 1 oil filter at about 10,000 miles. I opened it up and there were no deposits in the pleats.

The oil was in use for about 9 months.

The excessive thickening is the reason I'm going to try Mobil 1 EP.

 

[SSDude]

Overall, this oil did well.

 

[Slick17601]

Did your gas mileage drop over the interval?

 

[Jan Richter]

I don't track the mpg closely so if there was a difference it can't have been more than 2 mpg.

When I changed the old Amsoil for petroleum Castrol GTX 5W30 (for the Auto-Rx treatment) I did notice a slight increase in power, even before adding the Auto-Rx. I've since finished the cleaning phase and with only about 2,000 miles on it the Castrol was almost as dark as the Amsoil with 21,000 miles.

 

[Pablo]

On a side note, I wonder about the Mo at 10. It could be from the rings, but that seems high. Just a random brain cell firing. Carry on.

How long are you going to run the M1 EP?

 

[glennc]

Wouldn't Mo more likely be residual from a prior fill with an oil that has moly? He mentioned use of Castrol, that has moly doesn't it?

Just a thought.

- Glenn

 

[Jan Richter]

quote:

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Pablo asked: How long are you going to run the M1 EP?

---

As long as possible. I'll have a UOA done after 10,000 miles and take it from there. If Mobil 1 EP doesn't work I may try Amsoil again if the Thickening Problem is solved. This is my first UOA and at $30 each it costs almost as much a DIY oil change. I want to settle on just one oil unless there's compelling reason to change.

Jan

 

[Jan Richter]

quote:

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Glenn said: Wouldn't Mo more likely be residual from a prior fill with an oil that has moly? He mentioned use of Castrol, that has moly doesn't it?

- Glenn

---

After I drained the Amsoil I filled with Castrol for the Auto-Rx treatment. Up until this UOA this rebuilt engine had seen only this grade of Amsoil for 100,000 miles. I did use Castrol GTX for the break-in but that was a long time ago.

Jan

 

[blupupher]

Jan, glad to see someone really doin an extended interval.
Hopefully the ail filter problem takes care of the high silicone.
No way would it have lasted to 35k. What is the sump capacity on that motor?

 

[Pablo]

blup - It's 35K or 1 year for non-severe use:

Usage brochure

17,500 miles if severe. The oil did thicken, but 1 year was coming up, and LA driving is usually closer to severe than not.

Thanks Jan for the dedication!

 

[Jan Richter]

quote:

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blupupher asked: What is the sump capacity on that motor?

---

5 quarts. Ford calls it the 3.0 Vulcan engine. The earlier ones like mine are specified for 5W30 oil, but the later ones (1994? on) were re-speced for 5W20 and the only difference is these later engines have roller rockers, and maybe a slightly smaller sump capacity. Some say the change to 5W20 was made only for CAFE purposes, which may or may not be true...but in which case why bother changing the spec for an old minivan?

Some of the oil usage was due to a leaking rear oil seal.

When oil leaks out or is burnt it takes any wear metals (in the burned or leaked oil) with it and when the engine is topped up with new oil the ppms are diluted. If no make-up oil were needed all the wear metals that are continually being produced would remain in the oil. Therefore I would intuitively think that if the make up oil during an OCI equalled the sump capacity, the ppms would only be half what they would have been if no make up oil were needed, assuming the wear is taking place at a constant rate through the OCI. Furthermore, adding fresh oil replenishes the additives.

 

[FowVay]

Pablo, can you elaborate on the ways that amsoil is addressing the thickening issues that they have with many of their oils?

I would also like to see the oxidation and nitration values on these analysis but it doesn't appear that Blackstone publishes this data.

 

[Pablo]

Basically they are starting with lower viscosity, different base PAO oils in the ATM and ASL. - same for the S2K, with a slightly different base oil.

Only these 3 have had issues in some apps.

 

[buster]

quote:

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different base PAO oils in the ATM and ASL. - same for the S2K, with a slightly different base oil.

---

Pablo, I'm not sure that is 100% true. The only thing they have done is lower the viscosity from what I've seen.

 

[Pablo]

Exactly buster - how do they lower the vis?

Different base oil mixture.